Phillips County Historical Quarterly

PHILLIPS COUNTY
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Published by
The Phillips County Historical Society

The Phillips County Historical Society supplies the Quarterly to its members. Membership is open to anyone interested in Phillips County history. Annual membership dues are: individual active members, $3.00, $3.50 if Quarterlies are mailed; man and wife, $5.00, $6.00 if Quarterlies are mailed (to both man and wife). Institutional, contributing, and sustaining membership are $5.00. Single copies of the Quarterly are $1.00.

Neither the Editors nor the Phillips County Historical Society assume any responsibility for statements made by contributors. Correspondence concerning such matters should be addressed to the authors, and concerning other matters should be addressed to Mrs. A. C. Sanders, Secretary, #1 Sanders Drive, Helena, Arkansas.

Dues are payable to Miss Bessie McRee, Membership Chairman, P. O. Box 629, Helena, Arkansas 72342. Make checks payable to Phillips County Historical Society, or payment may be made at County Treasurer's Office, Courthouse, Helena.

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Meetings are held on the fourth Mondays in the month, at 3:30 P. M., at the Phillips County Museum, Helena. No meetings are held in December, June, July, and August, The Quarterly is published in September, December, March, and June.

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PHILLIPS COUNTY
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Please pick up your Quarterlies promptly at the Helena Public Library

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COURT HOUSES OF PHILLIPS COUNTY

by

Dorothy James

The first county building in Phillips County was a two-story log building, With a court room above and the jail below, and stood on a ridge on the northwest corner of Perry and Franklin Streets in the old town of Helena according to tales told by oldtime residents of Helena. According to the official records, this lot was not owned by Phillips County, but was the property of Sylvanus Phillips, pioneer citizen of this area. This site was later the location of a building used as a courthouse, and perhaps this was the two-story building referred to by these oldtimers. At any rate, it is still known as ''the old courthouse grounds."

The first courts held in Phillips County were at Helena, in rooms rented from various individuals, and court was first held and recorded on January 15, 1821. On February 21st, 1845, Phillips County purchased Lot 66 in Old Helena, located on the southeast corner of Ohio and Porter Streets, and Boyd Bailey was appointed, subsequently, as Superintendent of building a jail on this lot. Henry P. Coolidge, Richard Davidson, and Elisha Burke, in January, 1847, were appointed commissioners to receive proposals and contract for building a courthouse, cost not to exceed $6,000.00. In April, 1847, these commissioners were discharged, their part of this task being completed, and Joseph P. Norman was made commissioner to actually contract for the building of the courthouse.

The structure built under orders of the Phillips County Court in 1847 was a two-story frame building 50 feet square, equipped with court room, jury rooms, a debtors' room, and rooms for the use of the county officials. The walls were weatherboarded outside and plastered inside. This building faced on Ohio Street and was on the east side of the street between Porter and Rightor Streets. In 1852 a very disastrous fire almost wiped out this part of Helena. The courthouse and jail, which was a separate small building, were damaged some, but no records were lost. However, this fire caused the County to buy a fire engine for Helena immediately and led them to make plans for a fire proof office to protect important records.

The office then built was placed in one corner of the courthouse grounds (the County then owned Lots 64, 65, and 66, in Old Helena), and was of brick with steel windows and slate roof. Prior to 1847 quarters for the use of a court sessions and county offices were rented from different persons. Court was held in one building and the county offices occupied another building.

In 1861, the courthouse bruned, and it was not until after the end of the Civil War that any attempt was made to build another courthouse. In fact, the records show that no courts were held from June, 1862 to May 29, 1865. For

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a year after the burning of the building on Ohio Street regular sessions of court were held in the Methodist Church, which was then on Cherry Street. In 1867, the second floor of the J. B. Miles building on Ohio Street was rented for court purposes and county offices. From 1868 to 1870, while a new courthouse was under construction, General G. J. Pillow's two-story brick building on the northwest corner of Perry and Franklin was rented for court purposes and county offices. This building was on the site so often referred to by older citizens as "the old courthouse grounds."

When the courthouse burned in 1861, Phillips County did not lose a single record book, and this county is also one of the few counties in Arkansas that did not lose any record books during the Civil War. Perhaps it was because of William Martin Larkin, whose story is told by his great-grandson, Floyd E. Curtis:

"William Martin Larkin, my great-grandfather, came from Cobb, County Cork, Island, to Phillips County around 1840 to build levees for the Hornors at what is known now as Phillips Bayou. During the War Between the States he left Helena and went out about 15 miles to a community known as North Creek. During the occupation of Helena by the Union Army he visited the town quite often. On one of his visits a young lady, approximately 20 years old, a friend of the family, told him there was a plot by the Federal Forces to confiscate and destroy the books at the Phillips County courthouse. I presume they wanted to destroy the records so the carpet-baggers could follow and take up the lands. Whatever their reasons, the land records were in danger.

"Great-grandfather immediately made his plans, came through the Federal lines with horse and wagon, and took the books out of the courthouse. Federal soldiers stopped and challenged his passage out of town. On being told there was a dead man in the wagon who had died of an infectious disease, and that the driver was on his way to bury the man the wagon and its contents were hastily allowed to proceed. The books were taken to a place near North Creek and hidden in hollow logs.

"Removal of the books were soon discovered as well as the name of the man who removed them. Soldiers came to North Creek, hung William Martin Larkin to a tree with his toes just touching the ground, and tortured him, but he never told about the books or where they were. After the occupation the books were returned to the courthouse.

"My grandfather, William Larkin, was approximately 10 years of age at the time and well remembered all the facts about the incident, and it was told to me many times during my youth. Grandfather became County Judge of Phillips County in 1924, serving two terms, and one of his first acts, or duties, was to have the books rebound because they were in bad condition. He felt that his father practically gave his life for them - his health was never the same again - and they should be preserved."

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On April 27, 1869, the corner stone of the courthouse to be erected on the northwest corner of Franklin and Market Streets, in Helena, was laid under the auspices of the Masons - the Oddfellows and firemen joining in the procession. Judge Thomas B. Hanly. James Millinder Hanks recorded in his diary, delivered a very excellent address on the occasion. This building was a large, two-story brick structure, with a dome, and halls, stairs and office rooms were on the first floor and court room on the second. The courthouse grounds occupied half a block on Market Street between Franklin Street and Broad Alley. Although the contract for its erection called for $44,000.00, old settlers say that it cost far more. This is the first courthouse of which we have a photograph. The building was razed when the present courthouse was completed and the lot sold for the purpose of establishing a public playground, now known as the "Solomon Playground." The jail lots, on the northeast corner of Franklin and Market Streets, across the street from the courthouse, were sold at the same time.

In October, 1911, the Quorum Court of Phillips County appropriated $10,000 for the purpose of building a new courthouse and jail for the County, and the County Court authorized the erection of same provided that the government of the United States would cede to Phillips County for that purpose the lots in Old Helena, being Lots 136, 137 and the north half of Lot 138, situated on the southeast corner of Perry and Cherry Streets, the site of the present courthouse. By act of Congress approved December 19, 1912, this was done, conditional that building would commence within one year from that date. F. F. Kitchens was appointed Commissioner of Public Buildings of Phillips County, to superintend the erection of said courthouse and jail. $250,000.00 was appropriated for the purpose.

On July 10, 1913, Phillips County contracted with F. W. Gibbs and Company, architects, of Little Rock, for plans and specifications of the new buildings, and on April 13, 1914, L. R. Wright & Company, of Dallas, Texas, was awarded the contract for construction, their low bid for same being $249,000.00. The County Court at this time levied a special tax of 1-1/2 mills on the dollar valuation of all taxable property in the county annually for the years 1913 through 1930. E. P. Molitor, County Judge, signed the contract on November 14, 1913, and building commenced. L. R. Parmelee, N. W. Green, and F. F. Kitchens were some of the men who served as Inspectors of the construction, and on June 14, 1915, the completed buildings were officially accepted by the County. This building has served our County since that date. It has two stories and a basement with the county jail adjoining. It is approximately 64 feet by 148 feet by 115 feet, has two main entrances, one on the north and one to the west; it is constructed of red brick, stone, marble, re-enforced concrete, tile, plaster, steel, brass and galvanized iron with a tar and gravel roof, making it fire proof.

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Abstract of early marriage records of Phillips County will continue in the next issue.

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STREET NUMBERS

From Helena City Directory, 1909

PORTER STREET 5th street north of Mo. from Miss. River west past College

MCDONOUGH STREET 9th street north of Mo. from Water west to limits

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JAMES CAMP TAPPAN: HIS LIFE AND DEEDS

by

Ernest D. Justice

I. The Years before the War

More than one hundred years have passed since Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U. S. Grant, commanding general of the Union armies. The records of the holocaust called the Civil War, War Between the States, and other names have been preserved to a great extent in regards to the national or overall picture. However, we often neglect local history as it pertained to that war.

The people fortunate enough to survive the chaos and destruction of that fratricidal struggle never forgot all the grief, glory and sacrifice connected with it. But those of us who have experienced it vicariously often minimize local events and figures of that day and time.

Thus it is with Brigadier General James Camp Tappan. That a more detailed record of the life of such an illustrious son of the South, Arkansas, the City of Helena and Phillips County, should have been neglected is, to say the least, unfortunate.

General Tappan was a resident of Helena, Arkansas, from 1848-1906, exclusive of the years spent in the Confederate Army. Even during the war years, however, he returned to Helena as often as possible. On one such visit he barely escaped capture by the Union army which was encamped around Helena under the command of General Samuel R. Curtis.

The Helena home he built in 1858 is still standing. The present address is 717 Poplar Street, and it is presently occupied by the Jerome Pillows. It is still one of the outstanding houses in Helena from the standpoint of attractiveness and historical interest.

The Tappan home was occupied by various high-ranking Federal officers after Helena was occupied by the Federals in 1862. Outstanding among the Federal officers occupying the Tappan home were General Samuel R. Curtis and General William Tecumseh ("War is Hell") Sherman. In fact, Curtis and his staff used Tappan's home as their headquarters during the time Curtis commanded Union troops in Helena.

After the cessation of hositilities, General Tappan returned to Helena and once again occupied the home he had built and lived in before the war. The house had fallen into a state of disrepair, but Tappan was able to rehabilitate it to its former state of repair and attractiveness.

Tappan's ante-bellum home figures prominently in a study of him and his career. However, the main objective of the present study is to consider the interesting life and accomplishments of James Camp Tappan in war and in peace. Since the environment is important in influencing and shaping what a man is and

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does, a look at Helena and Phillips County, approximating the time Tappan lived there, is of considerable importance.

Perhaps the Union Hotel that Gerstacker wrote about was still standing when James C. Tappan came to Helena in 1848. Gerstaecker was a German who travelled and wrote considerably about early Arkansas. He wrote of Helena and the Union Hotel: 'In Helena (a little town in Arkansas on the shore of the Mississippi)...The Union Hotel was the best hostelry in the city....an American tavern-keeper's room...bears its little bottles of peppermint and Staunton bitters so that each guest can spice his drink with one of the two pungent spirits. The Carafes placed in the back shine and sparkle, their colorful contents inviting the great to try them... But never will the traveller feel comfortable in this public edifice, whether it is called a hotel, inn, tavern or boarding house."¹

After observing the people occupying the Union Hotel, Gerstaecker commented further concerning the hotel: ''On the left was the fireplace, on the right three windows opened on Elm Street, while near the door two other in the front of the house furnished a view through the veranda towards the wide Front Street, and at the same time looked out upon the steamboat and flatboat landing and upon the river. In the middle of the rather large room stood a broad-footed, four-cornered table, on which lay a few newspapers, the State Gazette, the Cherokee Advocate, and the New Orleans Bulletin."²

In the 1840's and 1850's, Helena was a thriving little town with strong Southern sentiments. It was the hub around which the life and work of Phillips County revolved. Rich cotton farming lands in the Mississippi Delta lay for some distance around Helena. Steamboats came often to Helena and other ports on the river as they made their way downstream to New Orleans.

It was in the early 1850's that Patrick Ronayne Cleburne and Thomas Carmichael Hindman came to Helena. Hindman was already a lawyer and Cleburne was to be admitted to the bar before the War Between the States. Both were destined to make their marks on the little city of Helena, Phillips County, the South and the nation. Both Cleburne and Hindman served as major generals in the Confederate Army. Cleburne was killed at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee during the War Between the States. Hindman was badly wounded at Chickamauga, and had to leave the Confederate military service. Later, during Reconstruction, he was killed by an unknown assassin.

The idea of states rights found strong supporters in Helena and Phillips County before the Civil War. When war came, Phillips County furnished many stalwart soldiers to the Confederacy. In fact, there were two major generals and five brigadier generals from Phillips County who fought for the South. One of the five brigadier generals was James Camp Tappan, the subject of this study.

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¹Earl Leroy Higgins, Source Readings in Arkansas History, (Little Rock, 1964), p. 145.

²Ibid, p. 146.

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"Phillips County, in 1860, was the leading county in Arkansas in assessed valuation of property. The amount was $18,269,187. This was due mainly to the large number of slaves in the county. Slaves between the ages of 15 and 35 often brought from $ 1000-1500 in Arkansas in 1860." ³

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James Camp Tappan was born in Franklin, Tennessee, June 25, 1823. His Virginia ancestry, on his mother's side, were near kinsmen of President James Madison. In fact, his mother was a grand-niece of President Madison.

James C. was the son of Benjamin Swett Tappan and Margaret Camp Tappan of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Newburyport was entirely swept away by fire not long after the birth of James C. Tappan. The city was evidently rebuilt because there is still a city by that name on the coast of Massachusetts about ten miles from the New Hampshire border. The 1960 census lists its population as 14,004.

After Newburyport was swept by fire, the Tappans moved to Balitmore, Maryland, and from there to Franklin, Tennessee, where James C. Tappan lived until he entered Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and there prepared for college. From Exeter he entered Yale in 1841 and specialized in the classics. He was graduated from that famous college in 1845.

Tappan's graduating class at Yale included Richard Taylor, later a lieutenant general in the Confederate States Army and son of the future President, Zachary Taylor, Judge Wood of the U. S. Supreme Court, and Chicago's famous executive, Carter Harrison, Sr. His classmates at Yale predicted a bright future for the young man from Tennessee who had done so well in the classics.

Evidently, Tappan had an aptitude for the classics, and received an excellent classical education at Yale. It is said that he was considered by all who knew him as among the most classically educated men in the state of Arkansas during the period in which he lived. He read the old Latin writers in the language in which they wrote their great works. Virgil, Cicero and other Latin writers were his boon companions. He read Xenophon and other Greek writers with as much fluency in the original Greek as he could read the translations in modern English.

Desiring to see some of the world, Tappan traveled extensively for about a year after graduation from Yale. Then, in 1846, he went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and began the study of law in the office of George S. Yerger, a former Tennessean who had achieved distinction as a lawyer. Tappan was licensed to practice law in Mississippi in 1848, and that same year moved to Helena, Arkansas, where he set himself up as a practicing attorney. In 1851, he was elected to represent Phillips County in the House of the Eighth Gener-

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³David Y. Thomas, Arkansas In War and Reconstruction, (Little Rock, 1926), pp. 13-14, 18.

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al Assembly. In 1852, he was appointed receiver for the United States Land Office at Helena, and continued to hold that office until 1860.

Meantime, in June, 1854, he was married to the beautiful and accomplished Miss Mary Elizabeth Anderson, daughter of Judge Samuel Anderson of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. When war came on they had been married about seven years. Mary Elizabeth, a true daughter of the South, gave up her home and the settled life in Helena to follow her husband during the years he served the Army of the Confederacy.

Mrs. James C. Tappan was a fine musician and was the faithful organist of St. John's Episcopal Church for years. St. John's Episcopal Church, at that time, was located where Ciener's is presently located, on Cherry Street in Helena. General Tappan was also a devout member of St. John's. Having given the lot, he helped to build the first Episcopal church in Helena. It is of interest to note that Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, before the war, was a faithful member and vestrymen of St. John's.

Not long before the beginning of the War Between the States, Tappan was appointed a special judge of the First Judicial District of Arkansas, and retained his judgeship until a number of important lawsuits had been decided. As a judge, his unquestioned integrity gave him a lot of influence. His decisions were marked by impartial judgment.

II. Military Career in the Confederacy

Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861. James C. Tappan supported the action of his adopted state by promptly offering his military service. In the same month that the ordinance of secession was passed, the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized. A company had already been formed with Tappan elected as its captain. The election as captain took place in Crittenden County at dead-and-gone Mound City - - once one of the most flourishing communities of that county. The site of Mound City is now outside the levee east of Marion.

Soon after his election as captain, Tappan was chosen colonel of the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment, and placed in command of the regiment. The Thirteenth was mustered into Confederate service in August, 1861, at Pocahontas, Arkansas, and soon orders came for it to leave Arkansas for Missouri.

The Thirteenth was stationed at Belmont, in Mississippi County, Missouri, across the river from the important Confederate stronghold of Columbus, Kentucky, where General Leonidas Polk was in command of the Confederate forces. The Thirteenth Arkansas was part of a brigade commanded by Gideon J. Pillow.

The Union wanted to obtain control of the Mississippi River, and thus cut the Confederacy in twain and hasten the defeat of the South. In keeping with the Union's plan, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant was ordered to Cairo, Illinois, and on November 7, 1861, was directed by his superiors

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to proceed down the river to Columbus, Kentucky, and take possession of it for the Union.

Grant and his troops embarked from Cairo on river vessels down the river toward Columbus. But instead of attacking Columbus, he decided to take Belmont on the opposite shore from Columbus, then cross over and take possession of Columbus.

Grant landed his troops on the river bank and deployed them in front of Belmont. The battle was brief but decisive. Tappan and the Thirteenth Arkansas bore the brunt of the attack. They met and repulsed the enemy, driving them back toward the river and almost capturing Grant as he and his men hastened on board the river vessels and headed back to Cairo. Thus Grant's first engagement of the Civil War resulted in an inglorious defeat.

The old veterans of the Confederacy were fond of saying that Tappan was the only man who ever licked Grant in battle. The Thirteenth Arkansas under the command of Colonel Tappan certainly distinguished itself on that November day.

Colonel Tappan and the Thirteenth Arkansas spent the remainder of the winter of 1861-62 in Kentucky, as part of General William J. Hardee's Corps. There orders came from the Confederate War Department to move from Kentucky into Tennessee and subsequently to Shiloh, near the Tennessee River.

The Battle of Shiloh took place on April 6-7, 1862. The Thirteenth Arkansas, commanded by Tappan and still a part of Hardee's Corps, fought bravely and distinguished itself in that bloody battle. The Thirteenth, attached to the brigade of A. P. Stewart, made assault after assault, along with other units, upon the memorable ''Hornet's Nest, '' and held its ground until W.H.L. Wallace's position was turned, when the whole line advancing, their stout opponents were driven back.

Today there is a marker on the Shiloh battlefield telling where the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment fought. The Union won the victory at Shiloh, but the bravery of the men of Arkansas who fought there lives on in the records of that great battle in southern Tennessee, not far from the Mississippi state border.

After Shiloh, the Thirteenth Arkansas participated in the invasion of Kentucky and substained its former reputation at the battle of Richmond and Perryville. On November 5, 1862, Colonel Tappan was commissioned a brigadier general and sent to the Trans-Mississippi Department where he served first under General Thomas Carmichael Hindman, General Theophilus H. Holmes and, finally, under General Sterling W. Price.

General Tappan participated in all the major campaigns in Arkansas. As a brigade commander under Price, he participated in the infantry operations for the defense of Little Rock, and retreated with Price to southern Arkansas and on to Louisiana where he took part in the Battle of Pleasant Hill. From Pleasant Hill he returned with Price to Arkansas. Back in Ark-

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ansas, Tappan's brigade was in the thick of the fighting during the Red River campaign in the spring of 1864.

General Frederick Steele led an army from Little Rock to join with General Nathaniel Banks who was leading an army from Louisiana to meet Steele's troops and thus secure the greater part of Louisiana and southern Arkansas for the Union. Northern Arkansas was already, for the most part, under Federal control. However, Banks was defeated at Mansfield, April 9, 1864, but a part of his army fought the Battle of Pleasant Hill on the evening of the same day. Although victorious in the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Banks was so battered and demoralized that he retreated, leaving the field to the Confederates under General Richard Taylor and General E. Kirby Smith, Trans— Mississippi Department commander.

After the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Taylor pursued Banks' army while Smith and Price returned to Arkansas to try and dislodge Steele from Camden. Steele finally retreated from Camden and segments of his force were defeated in various battles in south Arkansas. One of these battles was that of Jenkin's Ferry which occurred on April 27, 1864.

In this battle, described by a Confederate officer as, "the severest fighting I ever witnessed, "Tappan and his brigade, a part of Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill's division, Price's army, played a leading role in the hardfought victory.

After the Red River campaign, plans were made for Major General Sterling W. Price to invade Missouri, his native state. The Missouri expedition began in August, 1864, and ended near the end of 1864. One source concerning James C. Tappan states that he participated in Price's invasion of Missouri, but the writer of this study has been unable to find any mention of Churchill's division, of which Tappan's brigade was a part, taking part in the Missouri raid. Perhaps Tappan remained in Arkansas to help protect that part still in Confederate hands.

Little is to be found of Tappan's military career during the latter part of 1864 and up until he surrendered his command at Shreveport, Louisiana, in the latter part of April, 1865. A short while before the surrender at Shreveport, we find him at Marshall, Texas, and still a brigade commander in Churchill's division.

Pvt. Silas C. Turnbo tells of the days leading up to the surrender in his unpublished "History of the Twenty-Seventh Arkansas Confederate Regiment." Hearing the news of Lee's surrender to Grant, the regiment asked General Tappan, brigade commander, for further information. Tappan informed them that news of the surrender had been sent to Churchill by General E. Kirby Smith, department commander, and that he believed it was true. The men were advised not to break up and leave for their homes at random, but to stick to the end and surrender like honorable soldiers. But he expressed the hope that the war could be continued by the men of the Trans-Mississippi Department, if necessary. Thus Tappan continued to

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live up to his reputation as a man of honesty and courage. He was willing to continue the war after all the years of fighting and terrible hardships he had already suffered. He did not want to give up unless there was no other course available. Of course, as history records, there was no other way. The Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered not long after the incident which turnbo has recorded.

The South had been practically devastated by the war. Thousands of her finest men had died in the terrible fighting. But in spite of the hardships that lay ahead, the South must be rebuilt. So, General James Camp Tappan resolutely set his face toward Arkansas and his home at Helena, located on the mighty Mississippi River, which then, and now, makes its often turbulent way down toward New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.

III. The Post-War Years

In God's great plan, we live and die,
Our lives we'll ne'er repeat;
Many the stories of causes lost,
And of memories wondrously sweet.

Memories of the time and place,
Of hillsides green, of a city street;
Men bow their heads in silent tribute,
When the man and the hour meet.

It can be truthfully said that the man and the hour met in the life and works of James C. Tappan. When the War Between the States ended he was almost forty-two years old. In the prime of life, he was to devote almost that many more years working for the welfare of his adopted state, county and city.

The Helena and Phillips County to which General Tappan returned was quite a contrast to that which he had left to join the Army of the Confederacy. The South had suffered greatly, and Helena and Phillips County were no exceptions. There were evidences of destruction and death on every hand. The Union army which occupied Helena had a bent for plunder and profit. Thomas tells of the occupation of Helena and Phillips County in his Arkansas in War and Reconstruction.

According to Thomas, the following transpired during occupation days:

"The Union army under General Samuel R. Curtis, the victor of Pea Ridge, occupied the city of Helena in July, 1862. The excesses committed by the Federal soldiers, as reported in the state papers, were hardly short of atrocious. Negroes were carried off by the hundreds by order of Congress. According to the True Democrat of Little Rock, the destruction of property which could not be stolen was carried out in a systematic manner. The soldiers broke open bureaus, trunks and wardrobes and destroyed what they are the Negro women did not want. Rings were taken from the fingers

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of women. Fences were burned, and, in at least one case, a planter was strung up to make him tell where his valuables were concealed. Particular delight was taken in wrecking the plantation of General Pillow near Helena. By the spring of 1863, it was reported that they had killed every milch cow, shot down every hog, and cut down the fruit trees in Phillips County. Also, that they had made a clean sweep of Chicot County."⁴

This accounts, which sounds a little like some of the reports of atrocities of the First World War, probably was somewhat colored, but it seems to be substantiated, in part, at least, by Federal testimony. The True Democrat reported a Federal chaplain as saying that Curtis did not pay for one-tenth of what he took and when he did pay gave less than half of the value. The same paper quoted from the Chicago Tribune a letter written by a private in Helena who said that "Guitars were stolen, pianos smashed up, shawls, dresses, albums, letters, pictures, silverware, and all such things were stolen and broken up."⁵ This, he adds, was not done by the old soldiers, but by the "hundred dollar men, or conscripts, as we call them."⁶ He also reported two cases of "assault."⁷

Accounts were also given of Federal troops seizing cotton from the citizens of Helena and Phillips County, selling it and keeping the money for themsleves, Also, Federal officers and cotton speculators bought cotton from loyal and disloyal men and from Negroes and sold it for a considerably higher price than that which they paid. General John S. Phelps, appointed military governor of Arkansas by Lincoln In 1862, reported to Secretary of War Stanton that cotton was being seized and bought in Helena and sold in St. Louis for 40 to 50 cents per pound. Seized cotton was sold on government account at Helena for 14 cents per pound.⁸

Phelps also reported that "Contraband" (Negroes) were sometimes exchanged for bales of cotton, giving two "Niggers" for one bale of cotton. The participants regarded such an exchange as a legitimate business transaction and not as returning fugitives to slavery. The latter was supposed to be forbidden by Union authorities. Phelps stated that Curtis himself had profited by cotton trading. A great deal was seized on government account and never accounted for to the proper authorities. Even privates, Phelps reported, now had horses and mules which had been taken from citizens. The private soldiers justified their conduct by that of the officers.⁹

Helena, as already stated, was occupied by the Federals in July, 1862, and continued under Federal occupation until some time after the war was over. During this occupation, Helena fretted under the heel of the conqueror and, as reported already, often suffered. So, when plans were readied by

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the Confederates in Arkansas for an attack on Helena, the citizens of Helena and Phillips County were not at all disappointed by the intentions of the South's forces in Arkansas.

On July 4, 1863, the Battle of Helena took place. The Confederates under Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes hoped by attacking Helena to relieve Vicksburg which surrendered on the same day that the battle for Helena took place. Another reason for the attack on Helena was that the Confederate high command hoped to avert an attack on Little Rock which was expected to come from Union forces at Helena.

The Federals under Brig. Gen. B. M. Prentiss repulsed the attacking Confederates after fierce hand-to-hand fighting and Helena remained under control of the Union. Holmes and his forces retreated back toward Little Rock, from which they had come to attack Helena. Later on, in September, 1863, Little Rock was captured by a Union army that attacked from Helena. Thus it was that both reasons for the attack on Helena were unrealized. The attack neither relieved the seige of Vicksburg nor prevented Little Rock from being attacked and captured by the Federals.

There is no record that Tappan participated in the Battle of Helena. Churchill's division, in which Tappan served, is not listed as having taken part in the battle. Churchill and his division could quite possibly have been left to guard Little Rock and other parts of Arkansas while the battle was taking place. Still another possibility is that the division Churchill commanded could have been in reserve somewhere; however, there has been no record discovered of such a disposition.

From the foregoing accounts, something of the condition of Helena and the county of its location can be ascertained. General Tappan, however, was a man not easily discouraged. He set to work to repair his fortune, after returning home, and that of his beloved South. He had been a man of some means before the war took its terrible toll of life and property all over the Southland.

Undaunted by the prospects around him, he set to work to regain that which was lost and to add to that which he sought to regain. He evidently believed that while there is life there is hope and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

General Tappan resumed the practice of law as the senior partner in the firm of Tappan and Hornor. In this firm Major J. J. Hornor was the junior partner. Major Hornor had served gallantly as a soldier of the Confederacy during the war just ended. It is recorded that the firm of Tappan and Hornor achieved a wide reputation in the practice of law.

At a later date, General Tappan was elected once again to the Arkansas General Assembly. He had previously served there from 1851-1852. In 1897, he was Speaker of the House in the regular and extra sessions of the legislature. He was re-elected as a representative in 1898, and served as chairman of Judiciary Committee at the session in 1899.

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In 1871, General Tappan and his wife were blessed by the birth of a daughter, Mary, born about seventeen years after they were married. Mary continued to live in the beautiful old Tappan home, after her parents were deceased, until her death on October 24, 1944. Mary nevery married, evidently preferring the single state to that of matrimony.

General Tappan has no direct descendants today in the city of Helena. A sister, Mary Belle Tappan Walker, who had been present when Tappan died, passed away on August 14, 1909, and is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in the same family plot that General Tappan, his wife and daughter are buried. Admiral Benjamin Tappan, a nephew, who was a naval officer during the Spanish American War, was also present in the Tappan home when General Tappan died.

As a lawyer and legislator, General Tappan was considered a brilliant orator, convincing in his arguements, a born leader, and had the gift of swaying men. It is recorded that he was twice urged to run for governor of Arkansas with excellent possibilities of winning the governorship, but he declined the offer each time. He was head of the bar in Arkansas for some years. His advice was sought constantly in matters pertaining to law, in the years after the War Between the States, and he was regarded as an eminent authority of law throughout the state of Arkansas. In recognition of his outstanding record as a lawyer, and his knowledge of law, Yale University, his alma mater, awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree; however, the date of the award is uncertain.

Tappan served as a delegate to several state Democratic conventions. In 1884, he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention which met at Chicago and nominated Grover Cleveland as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Cleveland went on to win the election that same year. In 1885, Tappan was appointed to the Board of Visitors at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

General Tappan was a man of fine physique and filled with the milk of human kindness. He was always the typical, polished Southern gentleman. His cheerful air and openhearted manner, won for him many friends in every sphere of life. He was ever appreciative of his friends, ever polite and courteous to all with whom he came in contact. Mr. Sam Tappan of 724 College Street, in Helena, an outstanding example of the polite, courteous and considerate Southern gentleman himself, speaks of General Tappan as the most polite man he ever knew, and this during a time when politeness was common, and not lacking, as is often true in our day and time.

Mr. Sam remembers, as a young man, staying in the home with Mrs. Tappan and Mary while the general was gone. He has some vivid memories of the old general as he neared the end of his life here on this earth. After death had claimed the general, Mr. Sam helped prepare the body for burial. Mr. Sam's father and General Tappan were first cousins.

The home of General Tappan was the scene of many brilliant and

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notable entertainments in his days of prosperity. He kept open house for his relatives and friends who chose to visit him and gave many a friendless one a home. Those were the days of happiness and fond memories. The war years were behind, even though the effects of war still lingered on, and the memories of death and destruction were locked deep in human hearts. But prosperity was smiling on General Tappan, and life rolled on like the mighty Mississippi as it made its way by the little river port and farming town of Helena. Steamboats plied up and down the river and the steamboat whistles could be heard on the river day and night.

In 1882, Mark Twain visited Helena. It is possible that he was seen by General Tappan. At least, it is an interesting speculation.

In his book, Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain wrote concerning Helena: "Helena occupies one of the prettiest situations on the Mississippi. Her perch is the last, the southernmost group of hills which one sees on that side of the river. In its normal condition it is a pretty town; but the flood (or possible the seepage) had lately been ravaging it; whole streets of houses had been invaded by the muddy waters, and the outside of the buildings were still belted with a broad stain extending upward from the foundations. Stranded and discarded scows lay all about; plank sidewalks on stilts four feet high were still standing; the broad sidewalks on the ground level were loose and ruinous -- a couple of men trotting along them could make a blind man think a cavalry charge was coming; everywhere the mud was black and deep, and many places malarious pools of stagnant water were standing. A Mississippi inundation is the next most wasting and desolating infliction to a fire."¹⁰

"We had an enjoyable time here on this sunny Sunday; two full hours' liberty ashore while the boat discharged freight. In the back streets but few white people were visible, but there were plenty of colored folks -- mainly women and girls; and almost without exception upholstered in bright new clothes of swell and elaborate style and cut -- a glaring and hilarious contrast to the mornful mud of the pensive puddles."¹¹

"Helena is the second town in Arkansas, in point of population – which is placed at five thousand. The country about it is exceptionally productive. Helena has a good cotton trade; handles from forty to sixty thousand bales annually; she has a large lumber and grain commerce; has a foundry, oil mills, machine shops and wagon factories -- in brief, has one million dollars invested in manufacturing industries. She has two railways, and is the commercial center of a broad and prosperous region. Her gross receipts of money, annually, from all sources, are placed by the New Orleans Times-Democrat at four million dollars."¹²

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¹⁰Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, (New York), pp. 260-261.

¹¹Ibid., p. 261.

¹²Ibid., p. 261

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As a jurist, soldier, political and citizen interested in a better day and a better life for those he loved and befriended, General Tappan was a fair-minded and practical man. But he could also show strong indignation when matters of truth, character and principle were involved, as do all men possessing strong principles, and believing in living uprightly before their God and their fellow men.

An intimate friend of Tappan's has left us an account of the following incident which occurred on a street in Helena: A man accosted the general on the street and accused him of making a certain assertion. Becoming quite angry, the general replied: "You are a dam liar. Excuse me, sir. excuse me again, sir, but you are a dam liar."¹³

Not only was General Tappan held in high esteem by fellow white men who knew and worked with him, but there is still extant a copy of a letter addressed to him by an ex-slave and employee named Burton Tappan. It was written at Nashville, Tennessee, February 28, 1906, less than a month before General Tappan died.

In the letter, Burton Tappan thanked the general for the many kindnesses shown him as a slave and employee. The old negro expressed the wish that he could see his former master and employer again, and mentioned the sorrow he felt after hearing of the death of Major Hornor, the general's former law partner. In all probability, Burton Tappan, who was past seventy at the time, never saw his beloved general again. For on March 19, 1906, at 9:30 A.M., the general departed this life.

In his pre-Civil War home, surrounded by loved ones, Tappan was conscious to the end. A few minutes before he died he called his daughter, Mary, to his bedside to bid her farewell. Death was like lapsing into a deep sleep, according to those at his bedside. His beloved wife had died six years befor the general, on March 24, 1900.

The immediate cause of the general's death, according to Dr. A. A. Hornor, who waited on him at the end, was hemmorrhage of the stomach, although he had suffered from complications of ailments. His daughter, Mary, as already stated, survived him as the closest of kin and his main heir. The next closest of kin who survived him was his sister who, like the general, was born at Franklin, Tennessee. The sister, Mary Belle Tappan Walker, died some three years later on August 14, 1909.

Today in Helena, Arkansas, there are Tappans who are, in some degree related to General James C. Tappan. There are no direct descendants, as already reported, but the Tappan home on Poplar Street still stands as one of the most impressive houses in Helena or the state of Arkansas. A family plot on the crest of a hill in Maple Hill Cemetery bears witness that a great man of the South, and all America is buried there. In Tappan, the

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¹³Janie M. Nichols, "General James C. Tappan, C.S.A.," Confederate Veteran, XXXIX, (September, 1931), p. 332.

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man and the hour were uniquely blended. Facts have already been given as proof that he was an outstanding example of true greatness; and if this study serves to enhance that fact, then surely it will have been worthwhile.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Endeavoring to list all those who helped in the formulation and completion of this study is difficult, to say the least. However, an attempt will be made and an apology offered beforehand to those who might be overlooked

I wish to thank, first of all, those industrious and enthusiastic students of mine in Section 8-11, American History, Central Junior High School. They rendered invaluable assistance in gathering materials and, more than they realized, encouraging me to strive on to bring the study to completion.

I am indebted to Mrs. Curtis Jeffries, Librarian of the Phillips Co. Public Library who searched for and found materials which helped greatly. Mrs. Carolyn Cunningham, Librarian of the West Helena branch of the Phillips County Public Library was also very helpful. In fact, it was Mrs. Cunningham who asked me to undertake the study of Brigadier General James C. Tappan, and who told me about Mr. Sam Tappan of Helena, with whom I spent some pleasant and informative time. Mr. Tappan has compiled a considerable and valuable amount of written and pictorial materials depicting the colorful history of Helena and Phillips County for quite a number of years.

Mrs. Ernestine Keesee, Librarian at Central Junior High School, helped me more than, I believe, she was aware in finding materials for this study. The Arkansas History Commission sent photostatic and typewritten materials from Volume 10 of the Confederate Military History. Also, from the "Chronicles of Arkansas," by Margaret Ross, I secured an account of a war-time incident involving General James C. Tappan, the subject of the present study.

Last, but not least, my wife helped me with various things, including the correct spelling of some words and the grammatical construction of some sentences in the study. She was also with me when I visited a couple of places prominent in the life and death of General Tappan.

Other who rendered aid will, I hope, as mentioned earlier, forgive my lapse of memory. If I forget, it is not because I am ungrateful.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia. Chicago: F. E. Compton & Co., 1962, Vol. 6.

Confederate Military History. Vol. 10.

Fletcher, John Gould. Arkansas. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1947.

Herndon, Dallas T. Annals of Arkansas. Little Rock: The Historical Record Association, 1947, Vol. 2.

Higgins, Earl Leroy. Source Readings in Arkansas History. Little Rock: The Pioneer Press, 1964.

Moreland, George M. "Tappan: A Half-Forgotten Hero." "Commercial Appeal," 1937.

Nichols, Janie M. "General James C. Tappan, C. S. A." Confederate Veteran, XXXIX (September, 1931), 330-332.

Reynolds, John Hugh, ed. Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association. Little Rock: Democrat Printing & Lithographing Co., 1906, Vol. 1.

Ross, Margaret. "Chronicles of Arkansas," April 14, 1965.

Thomas, David Yancey. Arkansas in War and Reconstruction. Little Rock: Central Printing Company, 1926.

Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Co.

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STREET NUMBERS

From Helena City Directory, 1909

WALNUT STREET 1st street west of Cherry from Mo. north to limits

PRAIRIE STREET 9th street w. of Miss. River from Ark. s. two blocks

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF WEST HELENA

by

E. G. Green

Before the turn of the century, the need for additional industrial sites was felt by local business leaders. At that time Helena was the hardwood center of the world. Lumber mills and yards extended along the Arkansas Midland Railroad from Hanks Lane to a mile below the Helena Crossing.

An attempt to develop such an area was first made at Barton in 1900, when the Premier Cotton Mill was constructed there. Workers were brought in from the cotton mill areas of North Carolina, but they soon became dissatisified. The mill operated for some years, but the inability to obtain and keep trained workers forced it to close.

With the construction of the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad into Helena beginning in 1907, new efforts were made. Mr. E. C. Hornor, who was then president of the Bank of Helena, with his cousin, John Sidney Horner selected the Clopton plantation, about three miles northwest of Helena as the best location for a new townsite. It was the closest level ground west of Crowley's Ridge and contained about 2300 acres. The plantation had been owned by the Clopton family from 1853 to 1902, when Hoggart Clopton sold it to Mrs. Helen M. Wortham. James R Bush purchased the property from Mrs. Wortham in 1907, and sold it to E. C. and J. S. Hornor in 1909.

Major C. H. Purvis, a civil engineer of Helena, was employed to lay out the town and completed his survey and map on March 28, 1910. It is interesting to note the Spanish influence in the street names. Major Purvis ran out of Spanish names, and named one of the street for his Negro hostler Sam.

I think that the original plan of the town was excellent. Industrial sites of approximately ten acres each were located along the east side of the M. & N. A. Railroad. A spur track of the Missouri Pacific Railroad traversed the center of the industrial sites, and a wide street, Sebastian, was on the east. The main east and west street was the Plaza. This street was 117 feet wide and provided ample room for the interurban track. This being before the days of Martin Luther King and Lyndon B. Johnson, residential areas were developed on each side of the industrial sites.

Even before the surveys were completed, several companies purchased sites and started construction on factories and mills. The entire economy of the area was based on lumber and wood products. Some of the first companies to locate here were the Helena Veneer Company, Ong Chair Company, Upham & Agler, Southwestern Wagon Company and Dennison Sawmill.

In August, 1909, E. C. and J. S. Hornor purchased the Helena Street & Interurban Railroad Co. for approximately $4600.00. Just what this property consisted of, I do not know, but it was probably only a franchise to operate a car line. The Interburban Railroad Company was incorporated by the pur-

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chasers and the property to it, in October, 1909, for the sum of $10,000, which shows that it pays to do business with friends. They immediately started construction on the electric car line, extending from Cherry and Porter Streets in Helena to Plaza in West Helena. A few years later, the lines were extended to South Biscoe Street and to Washington Street. This line became the main connection between the towns. It was quite the thing to take a round trip or two in the evening during the summer. It was a chance to cool off, fight plenty of bugs, and the round trip cost a dime.

There were three public roads between the two towns. The Neil Road from West Perry Street ran northwesterly and entered West Helena at Tenth and Cleburne. The Stringtown Road ran west from West Perry, passing about a mile south of West Helena where it intersected an extension of Seventh Street. The Little Rock Road ran south from Biscoe Street to the Helena Crossing and then northwesterly to the southwest corner of West Helena. All of them were dirt roads, dusty in summer and almost impassable in winter. Automobiles were gaining in number, and it was a proud owner who could make it west on the Stringtown Road without being pushed. The hills favored the Neil Road going west and the Stringtown Road returning east. The Little Rock Road was about twice as long, but it was favored by sissies as it was comparatively level. A road was constructed along the right-of-way of the Interurban Railway and it became the main highway.

Mr. L. R. Parmelee became engineer for the newly incorporated West Helena Company in March, 1910, and continued until December, 1911, when he resigned to accept the office of City Engineer of Helena, a position that he still holds. He was succeeded br R. L. Hope, who continued as engineer for some years.

The new town grew rapidly, and by 1913 it was necessary to dedicate new territory, as shown by the map prepared by Mr. Hope. This map shows that there were six new wood working mills added, and that the St. Francis Cotton Mill had moved the equipment of the old Premier Cotton Mill from Barton and was in operation.

An amusement park was established where the Beechcrest School is now located. There was a theater where quite good summer shows were given. There was also a ban stand and a small zoo.

The Helena County Club built a nice club house and a golf course. The Club became the center of social life. If you have never sat on the veranda of the old Club and listened to W. C. Handy give a trumpet solo in the moonlight, you just haven't heard music.

Upon a petition of 90 citizens, the town was incorporated in June, 1917. Mr. J. W. Dennison was the first mayor. Mr. Walter Shannon served as the second mayor in 1921. Mr. E. T. Hornor was mayor from 1925 until 1929. Mr. Hornor knows more about the operations of the Interurban Railway and the West Helena Company than anyone alive, as he was in the midst of the whole development.

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There were five companies making barrel staves at one time, but the coming of Prohibition closed their market and they had to close. The automobile put the wagon company out and the tin bucket ruined the bucket factory. They have been replaced by such companies as Mohawk Rubber Co., Doughboy Plastics, Bobbie Brooks Garments and Helena Chemical Co. This provides a much sounder base for our economy than being dependent on only one type of industry. However, lumber products are still the most important items.

Over the years, both the cities have prospered and grown. They have many disagreements, but there is one thing that they are mutually, unanimously, individually and collectively agree upon. That is, that they don't want to consolidate.

(This paper was given before the Phillips County Historical Society in April)

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The Bowies

In the 1836 issues of the "Constitutional Journal," published at Helena by Wm. T. Yeomans, John J. Bowie and B. H. Lurty, General Land Agents at Helena, had large advertisements in each issue. Bowie & Lurty offered varied services to non-resident land owners of land in Arkansas Territory, including the payment of taxes, furnishing an adequate description of the owner's land and its market value, and they would sell any lands for an absentee landlord. Bowie & Lurty also offered thousands of choice acres for sale, using as an added inducement, the fact that they had bought a detailed book, complete with maps, from N. Rightor, surveyor, describing all lands set apart by Congress as Military Bounty.

In the March 31, 1836 issue of the "Constitutional Journal," was a letter that had been taken from the Natchitoches, Louisiana 'Herald.'' The letter was dated February 24, 1836, and was from Wm. B. Travis, colonel commanding at the Alamo, which told of being under the seige by Santa Ana and asking for help.

By April 21st, the ''Journal" was listing some of those killed at the Alamo on March 6th, among them, Col. David Crockett, Col. Travis, Col. James Bowie.

John J. Bowie, also called Colonel, and thought to be Jim Bowie's brother, is known to have lived on Market St. as early as 1831, and to have had the first brick house in Helena. The "Journal" on July 7, 1846 reports that a celebration of the 60th anniversary of American Independence was held at Col. Bowie's home by some of the Democratic Republicans of Phillips County. Some of the people who attended this 1836 celebration were T. C. Hornor, J. Lindsay, Col. D. Martin, H. D. Jones, S. P. Kerr, Jno. Martin, Darby Pentecost, Wm. Bostwick, Aaron Garretson, Wm. C. Garretson, C. W. Ernst, S. R. Sumpter, John McGonnigale, James S. Garretson, Austin P. Roper and Reason P. Bowie (known to be Jim Bowie's brother). Reason Bowie offered a flowery toast which was quoted in the newspaper: "Phillips County, tho' now in her girlhood dressed in homespun, may she yet curl her hair and stand forth dressed in silk, a comely dame."

The origin of the Bowie Knife has been attributed to both Jim Bowie and his brother Reason (or Rezin), and the Encyclopedia Americana says that by 1840, large quantities of them were being made in Sheffield, England to be sent to Texas. Whether or not they were bric-a-brac in the parlors on Market St. in 1836, is unknown.

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HELENA AUTO CLUB

Helena Board of Trade's ''Daily Bulletin, ''September 6th, 1910

"To properly describe the trip of the Helena Auto Club yesterday and its entertainment after its arrival at Indian Bay would require a more accomplished writer than yours truly, but having been a guest on the trip, I am going to attempt it, with due apologies to all concerned.

At four o'clock yesterday morning, the pilot car in charge of Mr. F. H. Woodin, pulled out, followed at intervals of 30 minutes to an hour by no less than 21 cars. The day being cloudy with a nice breeze blowing was ideal, the roads were exceptionably good permitting in many places a speed of from 30 to 40 miles per hour. Practically every car was loaded to its capacity carrying in all between 90 and 100 persons. Various records were made on the trip. While no one was out for a record, practically all kept track of time and the trip was made in from 1 hour and 40 minutes -- by Mr. Chew, in his Olds Limited -- to 3 hours by the less venturesome. This of course does not take into count the two or three cars which had slight or serious trouble and delay. Leslie Allin followed the procession in the repair car and brought cheer to several weary souls who had gone out of commission. To depict the many funny situations on the trip, needs a humorist. To have seen the negroes unloading from buggies and wagons pell mell when a car would heave into sight would have tickled the sides of the proverbial cigar store Indian, and pickaninnies hanging over the fences waving and yelling was a sight never to be forgotten and the capers cut by mules and horses were ludicrous to the extreme. But best of all, was the scenes of thrift and good crops one saw over the entire route. The scene as viewed by the writer, from the car of ‘'Wild Bill" Dunlap was Kaleidoscopic. Imagine one cigarette lasting you from Poplar Grove to Indian Bay and you have an idea of the speed made, we have no records as the speedometer realizing its inadequacy, went on a strike, the whistle took fright and disembarked between Poplar Grove, hats and caps joined the bird gang and alighted in the fields and woods. We heard reports along the road that fifteen automobiles and an aeroplane had gone on ahead of us. We learned later that the aeroplane was ''Barney Oldfield'' Harrington in his Buick. The Club in informal session passed resolution requesting Mr. Harrington to stay on the ground, and "Wild Bill," in the road and out of the fields.

Arrived at the Bay, the machines were met by Mr. and Mrs. F.H. Woodin, host and hostess, and we found a completeness of arrangement for the entertainment that could not be surpassed. Mr. Woodin had builded a stove and frying kettle, all his own invention - huge in size and which for its usefulness on such an occasion, was the "real thing.'' To describe the club house site and the Bay, would require the eye of an artist and the words of -- well – Marie Corelli. The club house is situated upon the high eastern bank of the bay surrounded by many hundreds of spreading water oaks, under which the tables were laid, and the spread was enough to make a man fight his pap. Fish of every kind, fried to a nice turn, Bermuda onions, pone cornbread, butter, pickles, light bread and ''Java"' of just the right brew. If you don't believe it,

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ask Chief Clancy and Mayor Martin. For once in his life, to the sorrow of the party ?, Mayor Martin was too full for utterance. Mr. Joe Pillow, to prove his erstwhile prowess went out with hook and line, only to snag a blue cat and to save himself from the penalty, had to swipe a trout from a fish box. And Jesse Fekler, having failed in every other way to win Lady Fair, resorted to heroics, took a young lady out in a dug out, but his nerve failed him and he sunk the boat where the lady could walk ashore. About 2:30 pm the crowd began to make its getaway after expressing to Mr. and Mrs. Woodlin their thanks and appreciation for the greatest days recreation they had ever had. The way the affair was managed did them great credit and will long be remembered. Coming home with the 21 cars strung out a few hundred yards apart, made the Glidden tour look like a dirty duece in a new deck. Snap shots were taken of the picnic party, which if prove good will be furnished the Motor Age and other outdoor sport papers. Mayor Martin was the only man to show cold feet, he having deserted his ship at Marvell, where he took train for home."

The following information about the outing at Indian Bay is from the "Helena World,'' Tuesday, September 6, 1910.

Cars and their passengers:

"W. C. Russwurm's Car--Dr. and Mrs. Russwurm, Leslie Allin, Mrs. Dan Miles and M. Armstrong.

C. L. Moore, Jr.'s Car--Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Moore, Jr., Mrs. J. J. Hornor and Miss Maggie Govan.

Edward Harrington's Car--Tappan Hornor, Misses Gladys Key and Eisle.

Billy Dunlap's Car--Mr. and Mrs. Jas. A. Ward and daughter, Irene.

Elmer West's Car--Mr. and Mrs. West, Mr. and Mrs. Elwin Jones.

W. A. Coolidge's Car--Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Coolidge, Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Agee and Mrs. Richardson.

Mr. Pouncey's Car--Mr. and Mrs. Pouncey, J. B. Pillow and Jesse Fetenger.

Roby Harrington's Car--Mrs. Sam Tappan, Mrs. Geo. P. Merrifield and Mrs. Lily Tappan.

Nat Green's Car--Mayor Martin, Chief of Police Clancy, J. M. Jackson and Dan Menaugh.

Foster Woodin's Car--Mr. and Mrs. Foster Woodin, Miss Bruce, R.E. Chew, Jr., wife and daughter: Miss Lizzie Cage and Mrs. Geo. Merrifield.

Frank Merrifield's Car--Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hornor, Mrs. Major Tappan, Coolidge Lyford and Miss Allin.

Gilbert Yeager's Car--Gilbert Yeager and son, Gilbert, Albert Tanner and son, Albert: Tom, Ed and Sam Tappan.

Andrew Coolidge's Car--Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Coolidge, Miss Butler Martin, Mrs. George Walker, G. H. Vineyard.

Richard Allin's Car--Mr. and Mrs. R. Allin, Mr. and Mrs. M. Neely.

J. G. Knight's Car--(paper torn).

Frank Figures' Car--(paper torn).

Jim Clopton's Car--Claude Fitzpatrick, Arthur Lockwood, E. P. Moore, Robert Gordon."

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The "Helena Daily News" of March 30, 1911 reports another story of the Helena Auto Club.

"Three were killed and one injured in the secret time contest given under the auspices of the Helena Automobile Association yesterday afternoon. The killed were three hungry looking canines who attempted to eat the rubber on the tires of approaching autos and the injured was a species of Jackassicus Brayonicus, who met with a rear-end collision with the machine said to have been operated by Charley Coolidge. No other accidents or injuries were reported.

The handsome trophy cup offered by Sam W. Tappan to the winner of the secret time contest held under the auspices of the Helena Automobile Association yesterday afternoon, in a fifty-five mile ride over the roads through Phillips County, was won by the car owned by D. T. Hargraves, with Alderman J. G. Knight, at the wheel.

The car made the slowest time in the contest, which was four hours, two minutes and a half. The time fixed by the schedule committee was four hours and twelve minutes.

The fastest time was made by the car of Ralph Chew, Jr., which covered the schedule in three hours and fourteen minutes.

The car run by Mrs. F. H. Woodin, the only lady chauffeur to enter the contest, came in thirteenth and covered the distance in three hours, forty-seven minutes and three quarters of a second. Mrs. Woodin was applauded as she crossed the wire at the finish.

The county roads were found to be in good condition as a rule, and very few poor places were encountered. Short stops were made at Marvell, King's Store and a thirty minute stop was made at the home of John P. Woodin, near Lexa, where that gentleman set them up to lemonade and other appreciated refreshments. The contest was greatly enjoyed by all who participated. The next run will probably be a trip to Marianna.

The following is a list of those who reported and the time made by their respective cars:

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THE COOK FAMILY CEMETERY

by

Betty M. Faust

The Cook Family Cemetery is located in Phillips County, Arkansas, near Barton, on U. S. Highway 49, one mile east of Highway 1 intersection and eleven miles west of Helena. The cemetery, about 200 yards north of the highway, is behind the Kummers' yellow frame house and is visible from the highway. There is one old cedar tree in the northwest corner of the cemetery. The cemetery, about thirty by fifty feet, is enclosed by a high wire fence. The original old wrought iron fence was replaced by this wire fence about 1945 through the efforts of Mrs. Jimmie (Hicks) Word of Memphis.

There are twenty-seven monuments in the cemetery. The first grave, dating back to 1860, is that of James Henry Cook, five year old son of James and Frances (Brooks) Cook. The most recent grave is that of Miss Mary Frances Cook, who died at age ninety-seven on October 27, 1964.

In 1856 James Cook with his wife, Frances (Brooks) Cook, and seven children came to Phillips County from Yalobusha County, Mississippi, and located on the farm surrounding this cemetery. James Cook had been born in Wake County, North Carolina, April 8, 1810. He was the son of Rev. Roland Cook, a Baptist preacher of North Carolina, moved from his state with his wife and ten children to Henderson County, Tennessee. He settled near Sandy River, not far from the town of Wildersville. In that vicinity he organized the first Baptist Church west of the Tennessee River and called it Hopewell. After building and dedication of this log church, Rev. Roland Cook returned to North Carolina for about one year. He them returned to Tennessee and settled on the edge of Gibson County, a few miles north of Spring Creek. There he erected another Baptist Church that was also named Hopewell. Rev. Cook was a close personal friend of David Crockett, campaigning for his election to Congress during the week and preaching on Sunday. One Sunday he read from the Bible in the pulpit, ''And David Crockett slew Goliath. '' This preacher continued his active work until 1840, when he died at age seventy-five and was buried at Hopewell in Gibson County, Tennessee.

Frances (Brooks), wife of James Cook, was born in Giles County, Tennessee, February 2, 1814. They were married in Mississippi and eight children were born to their marriage: Roland James, October 27, 1839; Sarah P. "Sallie,'' March 30, 1842; Susan '"'Sue," April 18, 1844; Nancy Love ''Nannie," March 13, 1846; Colden Shim, March 6, 1848, died Nov. 29, 1848; Henrietta Jane "Jennie,'' July 6, 1850; Robert Brooks, April 19, 1852; James Henry, September 11, 1854, died July 4, 1860.

When James Cook and his family settled here in 1856, this land was covered by woods, and it was cleared by Mr. Cook and his son Roland. James Cook was a carpenter by trade. He built a two story frame house for his family where the Kummer house is now. This house was used as a relay station for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. When this became known to the

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Federal forces in Helena, a group of Union soldiers went out from town to burn the house. There were four daughters in the family, and six other young ladies from Helena families were staying there during the occupation to be ''Protected'"' from the Yankee soldiers, When the Union men rode into the front yard, the ten young ladies, being very curious, came out on the upstairs porch. Seeing the ten girls lined up along the railing, the Yankee commander felt sorry for Mr. Cook with so many women on his hands and let him keep his house.

In June, 1861, Roland James Cook, the elder son, enlisted in the Second Arkansas (Confederate) Infantry, serving until after the battle of Chickamauga, when he was severely wounded by a gunshot in the right hand and left breast. He was orderly sergeant, and was in many prominent engagements: Shiloh and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Perryville, Kentucky. After being wounded he was taken prisoner but retained for only a short time. During the war he wrote many letters home to his family living here. These letters are being published in the Phillips County Historical Quarterlies. His younger sister, Sue, kept a diary during 1864 and 1865, recording skirmishes nearby, illnesses, marriages, and life as it was on the farm during those wartorn years.

James Cook continued farming here until his death in 1872 at age sixty-two. His wife Frances died in 1876, age sixty-two. They are buried side by side in this cemetery.

On October 23, 1866, Roland J. Cook married Miss Lucy Frances Winbourn, daughter of Rev. A. K. Winbourn, a Methodist minister of DeSoto County, Mississippi. Their eight children are as follows: Mary Frances "Sister'' (1867-1964), an infant (1869), Lucy W. (1873-1879), Jane "Janie" (1876-1963), James Roland (1877-1955), Henry Winbourn ''Win" (1880- ) Susie L. (1882-1889), Nannie (18 -1903). Janie Cook married Erastus Duncan "Ras" Vineyard. H. W. "Win'' Cook married Miss Grace Jordan of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and they now live in Los Angeles, California.

After the death of his father, James Cook, in 1872, Roland J. Cook and his family moved back to the old home place. On October 11, 1898, his wife, Mrs. Lucy Frances (Winbourn) Cook, died at age 56, and was buried in this cemetery. After the death of his first wife, Roland J. Cook married Mrs. Annie (Williams) Green, widow of Bart Green, Jr. of Barton. She was the mother of two sons, one of which is E. G. ''Ned'' Green of West Helena. Of this marriage one child was born, Annie Catherien. Mrs. Annie (Williams) Green Cook died two weeks later on October 24, 1901, age 34, and was buried here. Her daughter, Annie Catherine Cook, married Frank R. McGinnis of Rondo, Lee County, and lives there now.

About five years later Roland J. Cook married Miss Lizzie Warfield of Lexa, and they lived at North Creek Community. Roland J. Cook died April 15, 1915, at age 75, and was buried in the Cook Cemetery between his first two wives. Mrs. Lizzie (Warfield) Cook, his third wife, lived at Lexa until 1948 when she died at age 88 and was buried in Central Cemetery near Lexa.

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One of the daughters of James and Frances (Brooks) Cook, Sue, who married E. A. Hicks, was buried in the Cook Cemetery when she died in 1912. Their sons, E. A., Jr. ''Boss'' Hicks and Jim Hicks, married Misses Nellie Winbourn and Marian Smith, respectively. They were first cousins and also nieces of Mrs. Lucy Frances (Winbourn) Cook, first wife of Roland J. Cook. Mrs. Marian Louise (Hicks) Tardy Newkirk of West Helena is the daughter of E. A. and Nellie (Winbourn) Hicks. Jim Hicks (1868-1901) and his wife Marian (Smith) Hicks (1866-1936) are buried here. Several other members of the Winbourn, Hicks and Cooks families are buried in this cemetery.

Marriages of James and Frances (Brooks) Cook's other children are as follows: Sallie Cook married Major S. H. King; Nannie Cook married Rev. Francis A. Jeffett; Jennie Cook married D. H. Crebs of Helena; Robert Brooks Cook married Miss Alice L. Scaife of Poplar Grove.

H. W. "Win'' Cook expressed the family feeling about this cemetery when he wrote: ''This plot of ground where our brothers and sisters, our parents and grandparents are buried is a very sacred piece of ground. Through our love for them, and what they have done for us. we feel that their last resting place here on earth should not be forgotten."

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LETTER OF ROLAND J. COOK

(continued)

Camp Pillow, June 26th, 1861

Dear Sisters,

I safely received your kind favors from off the St. Francis, and again felt somewhat at home, after reading your letters and satiating my appetite a little with the contents of the box. You have no idea how good I did feel when upturning the lid and seeing all those good cakes and breads; and you should have heard the boys how they blessed you all as they scored their teeth into the cakes. I have not eaten the heart yet -- keeping it until I can get an opportunity to give Najor Scaife a piece.

My health has been as good, if not better, than it was at home. I had a little cold when I got to Knoxville that was caused by riding in open cars. If all car riding was as disagreeable as it was going up and down the road from Memphis I hope I may be excused from riding in another one. The roads were dusty, the nights cold and damp, and the sun shining in about half the time making it as disagreeable as possible. On our return we met about seven thousand men on their way to Virginia.

Every regiment we met the boys got madder and madder if possible, when we ascertained that we had to return to Arkansas. We were the maddest set of fellows I think lever saw. On our return through Corinth I saw Frank Derit from near Uncle Bob's. He is in the same Company that cousin Lucius is. They have been in Corinth about three weeks. Lucius was not at the depot and I did not have time to go to see him in the camp. Lind Martin, second Lieut. in the same company was in Memphis last Sunday, but did not come out

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to see me, and I was officer of the guard and could not get to go and see him.

There was a man in Camp Monday who belongs to a regiment stationed at Union City, Tenn. He is from a company made up from the neighborhood of Poursville, and was directed from Uncle Dowels to Memphis, and came down to see me as he had heard from Cousin Mat that I was in the regiment, and from the manner of his conservation I think he would like to be kin with me. His name was Linn, and appears to be a very clever man.

I hear from home every two or three days by persons coming into camp from Helena, but hearing is not like writing. Whenever I can receive your letters I want you to write to me, and send me something to eat. We get plenty such as meat and bread, and sometimes some vegetables, but not often. Ben Norrin's uncle has sent in enough vegetables to feed the company on for several days.

The ladies of Memphis came into our camp and took the sick into the city to take care of them in private families if nice looking men, but if they look dirty and filthy they send them to the Soldier's Home where they are well cared for.

Our man from the "Hindman Rattlesnakes" died a few days ago, and another is now very sick indeed. Duke Tinnin was taken sick in Knoxville, and is not yet able to come into camp, but is much improved. Leo Beaty was taken sick at the same time with Pneumonia so bad that we had to leave him, but Dr. Phillips and Dr. Foster remained with him and succeeded in getting him up, and back a few days ago.

Lieut. Jackson commenced drinking in Knoxville and has been drunk every since. This morning he had a spasm and liked to have died -- in fact he would have died if we had not have poured some whiskey down him. He has been arrested and ordered before a Court Martial, but he has been too bad off to do so, and today they let him be carried off to his brother's. The old man is up here, and very much mortified.

Tell the young ladies not to quarrel over my ambrotype, for if I have an opportunity I will have two or three more taken and send down to them.

Col. Hindman says no man shall leave the boat when we get to Helena; so if you all get to see us you will have to come to Helena. Give my respects to all my friends -- love to all Uncle Buck's family, and send word to them about when we are to be by Helena so that I can see them. Give my love to all. Tell the Negroes howdy for me, and believe me as ever a devoted son and brother.

R. J. Cook

P. S. Excuse hasty writing and bad spelling, as I am in a hurry and writing on the same box that holds the cake you sent. Bart and Sid send their love and respects to you all.

(Roland Cook was taken with the measles a day or two before he left Memphis, and when he came to Helena, Col. Hindman gave him a furlough for thirty days.)

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Camp Hardee, Arkansas. August 3rd, 1861

Dear Pa,

We arrived in camp yesterday all safe and sound except John Swan lost one of his mules -- it being left behind by accident -- and Bob Macon has been complaining a little since his arrival. I improved every day after I left home, and now feel as strong as I did before I was sick; but for all this I am very careful yet.

The Legion has been increased by two companies, and with Clebourn's Regiment had departed two days before I got here, for Missouri, and are now about fifty miles in the state. I also found that twenty men have died since they left Helena, and now there is about sixty sick; none of the dead was of our Company, and only two are sick, but both are very sick with fever. They are Vard Hitchens and Lem Rodgers. The measles has gone through our Company, and good many had to be left behind. Bart Turner has been nearly dead and is not now able to come to our present encampment, which is quite an important position. He has to take care of the guns and ammunition that is not in service, and to fill all orders for such articles. He is now regularly installed in the service for the ''Whole Hog.'' Captain Bridewell is now Gen. Quartermaster for the Battalion.

There has been no division in our Company yet, and I have understood that the officers will be appointed by the Coln. If such be the case no telling who will be appointed. Cop Cole, the man who deserted in Memphis, came back and fell into ranks just as the Company was marching off. One of the two left in Memphis joined them at Clarendon, as he merely went by home to see his wife, the other he did not know where he was. One of the Young Guards deserted his Company after they had commenced their march, and was caught by the advance guards and examined, and was found upon his person a written list of all the Regiments under Hardee with a statement of their force and number of guns and general condition of the men. He was proven to be a spy, and that as such, on last Thursday. He was one of those Missouri troops, Mr. Macon will not start home until tomorrow or Monday, and I may have something that will interest you before that time.

The Legion has moved up to where Coln. Clebourn's Regiment was first encamped. There are six or seven down there with Bart, but all are getting well and will be up in a day or two. Our Company went off in very bad condition having only Draper for Commander. One Sargeant, and two Corporals. They were the only officers in it, and they expecting to have a fight soon. Jackson is in camp confined to his bed, and probably will be there for some time. I expect to start off within a few days to join the Company, if they do not return soon. The expedition was started off to capture some six hundred or more troops who were not far distance, but I have not been able to learn exactly the design. They left their camp and equipage, cooking utensils etc -- taking with them three days provisions and fifty rounds of cartridges per man. They bivouac around fires at night.

John Swan arrived at quite an auspicious time. They are pressing into service every wagon and mule and horse that will suit them, and besides that he came just when an opening occurred in the shape of a position of Ordinance Sargeant.

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August 4th, 1861

I have not been able to learn anything from the Regiment which has left. It is now generally understood, or believed, that they will go to Greenville, and throw up some works. You can not get any news up here at all. The papers we brought up with us is the latest we have, and is the last that we yet have. If anything is done we only hear of it in one or two months. Weatherly and his crowd has not yet arrived. I am glad I did not stay to go with them. It cost us all the small sum of twenty one dollars to get up here; making my expenses scarcely anything. I might write you a great many rumors, which may prove false so I will say nothing about them until I can get good authority. There is one thing I know is certain and that is General Yell came up to Camp and almost broke up Col. Clebourn's Regiment when they were transferred, but I feel proud to say that of the two hundred men who left not one that I can learn of came from Phillips County. Since I wrote Yesterday I have counted up twenty men who were not able to go with the Regiment.

I will write again and endeavor to keep you all as well posted as possible with our movement. If you will write and direct your letters to Pocahontas probably I may get it. I am very anxious to hear from home. Give my love to all relatives, and Miss Lou, also Mr. Jarman's family, and Mrs. Fitzgerald, and to all inquiring friends. I am, as ever, your dutiful son.

Roland

Parson Corley preached us a good sermon and gave the boys "goss" for their profanity and vulgarity. He is a little unwell, and send his respects to you all.

Camp Hardee, Ark. August 9th, 1861

Dear Pa, and All,

I am yet at Pitman's Ferry, and am yet unable to say when I can leave; as I wrote you before I found a good many of our Company at Camp here without officers, and I have been compelled to stay here to take care of them, and keep them straight.

Col. Bocage was willing for me to go but Dr. Hornor was not ---- and rather than do nothing I went up and attended to the teams, and receiving and delivering forage. Bridewell, the Gen'l Quartermaster, was very anxious that I should take the position permanently as Gen. Guard Master, but I was too anxious to get to St. Louis to remain at this place one or two months. I now have all things well and closely packed up ready to move at an hour's notice, and hope that hour will be the next. Cam Biscoe came back last night from the army, and reports that Gen'l Hardee and Coln. Hindman will return to this encampment today, and that Col. Hindman is on his way to North Western Arkansas to try to get three or four Regiments and swell our force to ten or twelve thousand men. The Command is now encamped at Greenville, Mo. where Biscoe says there are twelve Union men to one Secessionist. They are taking almost their subsistence from them. Coln. Hindman found Mrs. Reaves so destitute of subsistence that he was compelled to give her something to eat to support animal existance. Old Reaves is out raising men

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to fight us, but don't get many. Coln. Borlands Calvary has captured some eight or ten prisoners, and had surrounded on Thursday night about five hundred of the enemy encamped in a cave between two mountains. Gen'l. Hardee sent reinforcements to him, and they were going to take them, or kill the last one of them on Friday. Biscoe left before any news of their action reached the Command. The enemy all fled from Greenville, Mo. on our approach and fell back upon Arlington at the end of the Iron Mountain Rail Road; at which place their forces amounted to between two and five thousand. Reports vary that much. No action is expected at that place unless more troops can force their way from St. Louis, which is hardly possible. There is near Greenville about two thousand Missourians congregated under Gen'l. Thompson, and they are armed with short guns and common rifles, but express a determination of going into St. Louis this winter. There are encamped around this place Colns. Cross, Lyons and Shaver's regiments, and at Pocahontas Coln. Patterson has his regiment --- making in all about four thousand men, and they are all tolerably well armed. Coln. Lyon moved his regiment from Pocahontas up across this ferry without orders from Gen'l. Hardee, and was consequently arrested and held under arrest three or four days. Coln. Hindman has had under arrest at least half a dozen of his Captains, and Lieutenants for violation of orders. A fellow has to walk very straight -- I tell you. But I don't think they will ever get me; for I always await orders before I do anything --- unless I see that something is badly needed, and then I act, and report that action immediately, and have found it the best way of doing business, and also it is better for the officers, for then they know what has been done, and what more is needed.

Up as far as Greenville, Mo. nearly all the people are Secessionists, but up above there they are reported to be all Union men, and find it will be hard to get any conveyances through the country. The man that I wrote you that was shot was not from the "young Guards,'' as reported, but was from the company from Vicksburg; neither was he shot, but was cussed and carried along, and in all probability be shot soon. Mr. Weatherly and his command arrived last Thursday, and all now are encamped near us. He reports that he started with a full regiment, but Captain George and Rease Hughes' Companies disbanded and returned to Harrisburg or home; he didn't know for certain which. I have not learned anything of the proceedings in any other part of the country since I left home excepting a report of an engagement between Gen'l. McColough and Gen'l. Lyons at Springfield. Their forces were respectively ten and twelve thousand. Lyons was entrenched, and Gen'l. McColough was afraid to engage them at the time he did, but he could not hold his men off -- so they trailed arms and rushed into their entrenchments and drove all Lyon's command off into the woods; scattering them as bad as a drove of partridges flying out of a brush heap. They took all his cannons, camps and ammunition; killing nine hundred, and wounding thirteen hundred. Our loss six hundred killed, and nine hundred wounded.

We had considered this certain until Biscoe reported that no news had reached Gen'l. Hardee of such an engagement; yet Gen'l. Hardee might have learned of it and not made it public. I write what I have learned of the affair, and can not say yet whether it is so or not. The war cry of the ''Boys"

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is St. Louis. If they can keep on the way to St. Louis they are all right, and if not held back, or nearly all killed, we will be there by the 15th of November.

The army in Missouri, exclusive of state troops, will amount to 25 000 soldiers. The citizens are organizing rapidly, and all they need is arms. They often come up to the army and inquire for guns, and would join us if we had them along for them. There are a great many here at Head Quarters, but none with the army, which has left. The report which Sill Hanley circulated throughout the country was much exaggerated some way or another -- for I have not heard, or been able to find out a man who had heard anything of such suffering as was reported. The ''Young Guards'' came from the lower landing, eight miles, in a trot all the way --- making it in "Shell time,'' but they were not tired. This river is very clear, but the water is warm and slick -- not good at all. Springs the same way. We dug some wells, and find water very good, and water is reported to be very good all way to Greenville, Mo. I am very anxious to hear from home, and the neighborhood. Write me as soon as you all get this letter, and direct it to Coln. Hindman's Legion, and probably I may get it. Write until I write that I have received your letters. The health of our Legion is improving fine. Only three men have died since I arrived -- none of our company or county. All who have died since we left Memphis was caused by Measles, and exposure except one. Captain Ross killed himself by clogging up his bowels by taking Laudanum when his medicine was acting well. He was a good officer, and a very clever gentleman. His company now mourns his loss very much.

On the Sabbath after I came home you know it turned cold. Well; up here there was a severe storm of wind and rain and hail blowing the tents wetting the men who had the Measles -- and hence this fatality. On the preceeding day they came up from the lower landing, and had not secured all the tents properly. We now have only five of our Company in the Hospital, but some of them are taking medicine in the camp. I hope we can get away from this place, which I think is very unhealthy. We will soon have sound men, as great many are being discharged on account of the effects of Measles in their lungs. Two in our company I expect will be discharged soon. If any reliable news come into camp before I send this off I will write it to you. Give my kindest regards to relatives and friends, and believe me as ever, your son, etc.

R. J. Cook

August 18th, 1861

I have not had an opportunity of sending off the above since written, and now will write more. You may probably hear all this before you get this, but may want confirmation.

Old Judge Jackson, the abolition Judge, is down here as a prisoner on parole of honor. He boldly avows his principles and is treated gentlemanly by all. He is a fine honest looking old fellow. I am in good health, as my cold is some better -- don't hurt me much. Write on receipt of this,

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as letters come up here via Pocahontas almost every day.

I am, as ever, Yours, Roland

P.S. Again: men die in camp as usual. Seven died since I got here .... cut their throats with their teeth on apples, peaches, and drinking cider. I send these letter by little Dick Kindal, who returns home on furlough.

Roland

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One of our editors, Mrs. Carolyn Cunningham of West Helena, recently won a prize for an article she had written, at the 8th Annual Arkansas State Festival of Arts, Little Rock. The article was "From My Father's Memories,'' and it appeared in the March, 1965 issue of the Phillips County Historical Quarterly.

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PASS BOOK: MRS. ELISHA BURKE IN ACCOUNT WITH H. P. COOLIDGE

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